Megan Bozek of the United States, left, congratulates teammate Kacey Bellamy after Bellamy scored a goal against Sweden during the first period of the 2014 Winter Olympics women's semifinal ice hockey game at Shayba Arena on Monday (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

The four-year wait for gold ends Thursday in southern Russia for Kacey
Bellamy of Westfield.

She'll slip on Team USA jersey No. 22 over her neck and step out to the ice surface at the Bolshoy Ice Dome in Sochi, Russia.

Among those standing up in the crowd and waving red, white and blue American flags will be her parents, Maura and Bob Bellamy. They have spent the entire 2014 Olympic Games living on a cruise ship docked near Sochi and watching their daughter play women's hockey games at Shayba Arena and Bolshoy Ice Dome.

The stands will be packed with American and Canadian fans.

Kacey Bellamy's second Olympic journey will come to a dramatic gold medal conclusion against rival Canada. Bellamy, who won a silver medal at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games and is guaranteed no worse than that this time around, will play a regular shift on defense. The U.S. women's team has medaled in every Olympic Games since women's hockey was added to the Olympic program in 1998, but the Americans have won gold just once and Canada has won the last three Olympic championships.

That is merely fuel for the Americans' fire.

Kacey Bellamy of the United States battles Emma Eliasson of Sweden during the first period of the semifinal hockey game on Monday.AP Photo/Mark Humphrey

After Monday's 6-1 win by Team USA over Sweden in the semifinals, Kacey was able to spend time with her parents after the game. It was a memorable moment because Bellamy scored her first goal of the 2014 Olympics in the Sweden game and it came on her father's birthday.

"After the game I told him, 'Happy birthday, I guess that was your present,'" Kacey Bellamy said.

That was one of the few times the Bellamys have been able to spend time with their daughter due to tight security and the busy scheduling for the women's hockey team. That will change once the gold medal game ends tomorrow, at least in terms of more free time for Kacey leading up to this weekend's closing ceremony.

"Things here have been great," Maura Bellamy wrote in an e-mail interview with the Republican. "The weather has been amazing and we have seen tons of security. We have to go through levels of security to go anywhere and there are police everywhere."

While Kacey, a 2005 Berkshire School graduate, is housed with the rest of the 229 U.S. Olympians in the athletes' village in Sochi, the Bellamys have enjoyed their time on a ship where dinner is served until 2 a.m. every night. Even in February, the temperatures in Sochi are much milder than what they would have experienced in Westfield (it'll reach 59 degrees Thursday).

"The Olympic Park is over the top of huge buildings and at night it all looks like a light show," Maura Bellamy said. "It is a very beautiful place. The scenery is breathtaking."

And this week, Maura Bellamy was featured with other moms of Olympic athletes on NBC's Today Show.

All this excitement boils down to one huge event: Tomorrow's gold medal game between Team USA and Canada. It is the biggest reason why Kacey Bellamy kept with the national team over the last four years for a run at a second Olympics. She wants to return home to Westfield with a gold medal.

And playing for her hometown fans is something that weighs heavily on her mind. She keeps in touch with friends and family through her Twitter account at Kbells22. "It's a very exciting time and I just want to thank everyone that has supported our team over the last two Olympics and a very special thank you to Westfield supporters," she said. "Your thoughts and words I read every day help me strive for excellence.'

In international women's hockey, there is no bigger rivalry than the USA versus Canada. No other nation has ever won an Olympic gold medal in women's hockey and this will be the third time that the United States and Canada have met for the championship.

Adding to the drama: Team USA lost to Canada in the preliminary round last week.

"That game put a fire under all of us," Bellamy said, "and we came into (the semifinal round against) Sweden a new team. We had three hard practices and a couple video sessions in preparation of the last two games, the semifinal and gold medal."

Bellamy, who played at the University of New Hampshire, scored a goal in Monday's 6-1 victory over Sweden in the semifinals. It was her first goal in the 2014 Olympics.

"Scoring against Sweden was an incredible feeling because as a defense core, we have been working on those types of shots to move the angle of the goalie just a bit. So to see success in what we have been working on day in and day out really brings confidence out in all of us."